Universal projectile

ABSTRACT

A universal projectile comprising a fuze, a body and a tail, wherein said body has at its upper part some means for removably fitting said fuze, and at its lower part some means for removably fitting said tail, and wherein said fuze has an autonomous impact system and an autonomous delay system.

a 111100 51mm Patent 1 91 1111 3,

Losfeld jan. 29, 1974 [54] UNIVERSAL PROJECTILE 1,672,150 6/1928 Brayton 102/74 2,173,620 9/1939 Brayton 102/74 1 lnvemorl Ai i fil ilfla 13 FELQ P e 2,178,597 11/1939 McCormick... 102 492 ThlebauTt 94 charenlonv France 2,315,145 3 1943 Wauters 102/492 [22] Filed: Jan. 22, 1970 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS [2]] A l N 4,829 1,372,643 8/1964 France 102/67 1,485,576 5/1967 France 102/74 [30] Foreign Application Priority Data Primary Examiner samuol Englo Jan. 29, 1969 France 6901738 Attorney Agent or Firm-Robert Burns; Emman- Nov. 28, 1969 France 6941116 L b t [52] US. Cl 102/74, 102/49.2, 102/67 7 AB TRACT [51] Int. Cl. F42c 9/14 [5 S [58] Field of Search..... 102/492, 74, 71, 70, 67, 64 APmverSal, prolctlle P fuze, a body and a tall, wherem sald body has at 1ts upper part some [56] References Cited means for remova1;1y fitting szLip fpite, and adt ittsllowe pa some means or remova y 1 mg sa1 a1, an UNITED STATES PATENTS wherein said fuze has an autonomous impact system 2,023,158 12/1935 Williams 102/64 and an autonomous delay System 3,181,465 5/1965 Anthony 2,113,313 4/1938 Brandt 102/49.2 11 Claims, 25 Drawing Figures 32 t 22 1. 1 B 2 @160 24 A b 19 1 I 17 11 J 16 8a I 2? l 1 i UNIVERSAL PROJECTILE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In the armament field, grenades functioning on delay, on impact, on impact and self-destruction are well k w as areugrenadss ncomn ss du i thasrital five variants being utilized, at will, as offensive or defensive, and each of these ten sub-variants in turn being set instantaneously for functioning on impact, or on delay, or on impact and delay (self-destruction).

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The universal projectile, subject to the present invention, has been designed to be used immediately in these thirty ways. Moreover, it may be loaded during the manufacture, with exploding, or incendiary, or illuminating, or smoking, or lachrymatory or inert chemical compounds, etc., so the variants of the projectile are innumerable.

In spite of its character of universality, this projectile is easy to manufacture and of low cost.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING These different-characteristics will appear clearly in the following description:

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal section of the projectile;

FIG. 2 is a cross-section on the line AA, showing the inertia device;

FIG. 3 is a view of the selector on the line BB, positioned to function on impact and on delay;

FIG. 4 is a view of the selector on the line 8-8, positioned to function on delay;

FIG. 5 is a view of the selector on the line 8-8, positioned to function on impact;

FIG. 6 is a view of the selector on the line B-B positioned on total safety;

FIG. 7 is a cross-section showing the single-arming FIG. 8 is a longitudinal section of a percussion unit;

FIG. 17 is an external view of the container;

FIG. 18 is a longitudinal section of a variant of the head of the fuze;

FIG. 19 is a longitudinal section of a variant of the fuze;

FIG. 20 is a longitudinal section of the projectile, with a variant of the fuze and a variant of the tail;

FIG. 21 is a partial external view of the fuze;

FIG. 22 is a longitudinal section of a variant of the fuze;

FIG. 23 is an underneath view of a delay compound for fire transmission;

FIG. 24 is similar to FIG. 23;

FIG. 25 is a longitudinal section of the same delay compound.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The universal projectile (FIG. I subject to the present invention comprises a metal or plastic body 1, easy to manufacture and to load because of its form, bearing ing sheath 3 and a bottom 4, said bottom being prolongated at the lower end by a mounting 5, of male form as represented, or of female form, said mounting receiving the upper part of a tail 6 with fin-assembly 7, the screwing of said tail onto said bottom holds in place an additional propulser 8; on the rear part of said fin-assembly is set a propulsive device 9 provided with an air-tight joint 10, with its charges 1 1, its primer 12, its fire channels 13 and with its fins 14 holding the charges 11 against the fin-assembly 7; a cup 15 for calibration is held between the bottom 4 and the tail 6. On the upper part of the body 1 is mounted a fuze provided with an impact system 16 and a delay system 17 locked by a single straight arming pin 18 kept in place by a tape 19 whose end bears an open-ring 20 maintained in a waist 38a of the barrel 38 prolongated by a widen part 380 as represented in FIG. 10; above said arming pin which isolates the primers 21 from the transmission compounds 22, so making a fire barrier,

when the impact angle is low, the inertial mass 29 FIG. 9 is an end-on view of a percussion unit, showing the fire barrier;

FIG. 10 is a partial external view showing the marks on the cap and the open-ring;

FIG. 11 is a partial longitudinal section of the pro-- in fire position;

rnoves either directly in the guideway 34 or rolls over the cone of the cap 35. The parts of the present fuze are very simply manufactured and are mounted by simple superposition of the base 36 bearing gudgeons 37, the barrel 38, the selector 23, the plate 26 and the cap 35.

The container (FIG. 17) is composed of two semicylinders 39 and 40 notched laterally, pierced towards the middle by the holes 41 for receiving the nipple 42 of a support 43; this support 43 is prolongated in front with a sheath 44, a launching tube 45 and a propulsive cartridge; this support can be fitted onto the convex side of one semi-cylinder 39 as seen in FIG. 16. The other semi-cylinder 40 can be used as a support for the sheath 44 at a selected angle for launching the projectile.

In FIGS. 7, 8 and 9, the impact system 16 comprises a striker 16a with its locking ball 16b which passes into the housing hole 160 of the pusher-primerholder 16d laterally disposed ahead of the ball in its locking positron.

In a first variant shown in FIG. 18, the cap is opened at its upper nose portion 47, which permits the immediate penetration of particules and elements of the impact surface (earth, sand, snow, water, etc. This orifice may be closed by an orifice-cover 48 which can be deformed by lengthening or by rupture, and made for instance of rubber or plastic; this orificecover may be a part of the cap 35, being only a deformable portion of it. The inertial mass 29 may have a part 49 in contact with the orifice 47 in order to be driven back instantaneously at the very moment of the impact of the projectile.

In a second variant shown in FIG. 19, the fuze contains only the delay system 17. To simplify the construction, the compounds 22 for tire transmission are located in the base 36. The striker of the delay system is locked by the arming pin 18 which is maintained by the tape 19 ending with an open-ring 20. A hole 27 gives passage from the upper housing 50 to the outside, in such a way as to offer an escape-release in case of an accidental firing of a primer, and to assure the tire barrier, that is to say the non-communication of the fire to the transmission compounds 22.

In a third variant shown on FIGS. 20 and 21, the fuze and the tail are simplified. The inertial mass 51 has a spheroid shape and the orifice of the cap 35 is situated above the tangent circle of the inertia device 51 with the cap 35. The tape 19 and the open-ring 20 are prevented from turning in their housing 38a by the presence of a stop 52 and a roughened surface 38b. The sheath 3 and the bottom 4 of the body 1 have an external diameter equal to the diameter of the fin-assembly 7. The tail 6 is bored internally with fire channels 13 partly coaxial, opening outside in 53 and 54 and bypassing the fire jet to the propulsive charges 11. For rifle launching, the tail 6 may have a simple tubular shape, with the end opposite to the fin-assembly 7 attached to an air-tight closing 55 adapted onto the bottom 4 of the body 1.

In a fourth variant shown on FIGS. 22, 23, 24 and 25, the fuze is modified. In FIG. 22, the impact system 16 is maintained by a washer 56 joined to the barrel 38. The delay part 22a of the fire transmission compounds 22 of the delay system 17 is housed in a duct 57 substantially circular whose dimensions permit a long delay of combustion. A washer 58 and a closing disc 59 which assure the air-tightness of the delay compounds 22a are turned in such a way that their openings 60 are diametrically opposed to the ignition entry to let the delaycompound 22a burn at the same time in the two semi-circles of the channel 57, as shown in FIG. 23, whereas in FIG. 24 the position of the openings 60 and the interruption of the delay compound (in 61) assure a longer delay; in FIG. 24, the duct 57 may have a helicoidal shape.

The construction of the projectile as described above provides for its use in a variety of ways. An assembly of the body 1 with its explosive charge and the fuse assembly can be used as an offensive handgrenade. With the pre-fragmented sleeve 3 added, the

assembly can be used as a defensive hand-grenade. With the addition of the tail assembly, the projectile becomes a rifle grenade. By means of the sheath as illustrated in FIGS. 15 and 16 the projectile can be launched as a mortar grenade. The present invention thus provides a multipurpose grenade that can be adapted in the field to the tactical situation encountered. Moreover, the fuse assembly selectively permits firing of the grenade on impact, firing after a set time delay or a combination of the two firing modes. Great versatility is thereby provided.

What I claim is:

1. A multipurpose grenade comprising a plastic body having a hollow cylindrical portion, a rear end closure having a forward portion of larger diameter than said cylindrical portion to form a peripheral shoulder atthe rear of said cylindrical portion and tapering rearwardly, and a front end closure having a central blind recess, a charge of explosive enclosed by said body, a fuse assembly extending forwardly of said body and forming a nose portion of the grenade, said fuse assembly having a portion received in said blind recess of said front end closure and comprising a delay system, manually operable arming means, an impact system and manually operable selecting means for actuation of said fuse assembly manually with time delay or by impact, means for removably securing said fuse assembly in assembled relation to said body, a metallic splintering sheath fitting around said cylindrical portion of said body and seating against said shoulder, said sheath having the same outside diameter as said forward portion of said rear end closure, cooperating fastening means on said body and said sheath for manually securing said sheath on and removing it from said body, a tail assembly comprising a tube extending rearwardly from said rear end closure and having an inside diameter to fit over a rifle barrel and a plurality of fins projecting radially from a rear end portion of said tube, the radial extent of said fins being equal to the radius of the forward portion of said rear end closure, and means for manually securing said tail assembly on and removing it from the rear end closure of said body, whereby an assembly of said body, explosive charge, fuse assembly, sheath and tail assembly is usable as a rifle grenade and as a mortar projectile, an assembly of said body, explosive charge, fuse assembly and sheath only is usable as a defensive hand grenade, and an assembly of said body, explosive charge and fuse assembly only is usable as an offensive hand grenade.

2. A multiple purpose grenade according to claim 1, in which said cylindrical portion of said body is externally threaded and said rear end closure is screwed onto said threaded cylindrical portion of the body to close the rear end thereof.

3. A multiple purpose grenade according to claim 2, in which said sheath is internally threaded and is screwed onto said threaded cylindrical portion of the body.

4. A multiple purpose grenade according to claim 2, in which said rear end closure has a central threaded portion and said tail assembly screws on said threaded portion of said rear end closure.

5. A multiple purpose grenade according to claim 1, in which said blind recess in said body is internally threaded and said portion of said fuse assembly received in said recess is threaded and screws into said threaded recess, thereby detachably uniting said fuse assembly with said body.

6. A multiple purpose grenade according to claim 1, in which said manually operable selecting means is further selectively settable for operation of said fuse assembly in both an impact operated and time delay mode.

7. A multiple purpose grenade according to claim 1, in which said fuse assembly has an annular recess in an external surface thereof, a single arming pin extending inwardly from said recess, a tape wound in said recess and retaining said arming pin and an open ring securing the tape in place, said tape being released by said ring and unwinding when said grenade is launched.

8. A multiple purpose grenade according to claim 1, in which said impact operated means comprises a ball in a nose portion of said fuse assembly.

9. A multiple purpose grenade according to claim 8, in which a cap covering said ball has a forward portion that is easily deformable.

10. A multiple purpose grenade according to claim 1, in which said fuse assembly comprises a barrel with a circular duct therein, pyrotechnical transmission compounds placed partly in said duct, a striker, an arming pin and a primer, said striker being intersected by said arming pin and said primer being isolated.

11. A multiple purpose grenade according to claim 1, in which said fuse assembly comprises a barrel having two fore-and-aft extending passages therein, one comprising said impact operated means and the other comprising said time delay means, and a single arming pin intersecting and blocking both of said passages. 

1. A multipurpose grenade comprising a plastic body having a hollow cylindrical portion, a rear end closure having a forward portion of larger diameter than said cylindrical portion to form a peripheral shoulder at the rear of said cylindrical portion and tapering rearwardly, and a front end closure having a central blind recess, a charge of explosive enclosed by said body, a fuse assembly extending forwardly of said body and forming a nose portion of the grenade, said fuse assembly having a portion received in said blind recess of said front end closure and comprising a delay system, manually operable arming means, an impact system and manually operable selecting means for actuation of said fuse assembly manually with time delay or by impact, means for removably securing said fuse assembly in assembled relation to said body, a metallic splintering sheath fitting around said cylindrical portion of said body and seating against said shoulder, said sheath having the same outside diameter as Said forward portion of said rear end closure, cooperating fastening means on said body and said sheath for manually securing said sheath on and removing it from said body, a tail assembly comprising a tube extending rearwardly from said rear end closure and having an inside diameter to fit over a rifle barrel and a plurality of fins projecting radially from a rear end portion of said tube, the radial extent of said fins being equal to the radius of the forward portion of said rear end closure, and means for manually securing said tail assembly on and removing it from the rear end closure of said body, whereby an assembly of said body, explosive charge, fuse assembly, sheath and tail assembly is usable as a rifle grenade and as a mortar projectile, an assembly of said body, explosive charge, fuse assembly and sheath only is usable as a defensive hand grenade, and an assembly of said body, explosive charge and fuse assembly only is usable as an offensive hand grenade.
 2. A multiple purpose grenade according to claim 1, in which said cylindrical portion of said body is externally threaded and said rear end closure is screwed onto said threaded cylindrical portion of the body to close the rear end thereof.
 3. A multiple purpose grenade according to claim 2, in which said sheath is internally threaded and is screwed onto said threaded cylindrical portion of the body.
 4. A multiple purpose grenade according to claim 2, in which said rear end closure has a central threaded portion and said tail assembly screws on said threaded portion of said rear end closure.
 5. A multiple purpose grenade according to claim 1, in which said blind recess in said body is internally threaded and said portion of said fuse assembly received in said recess is threaded and screws into said threaded recess, thereby detachably uniting said fuse assembly with said body.
 6. A multiple purpose grenade according to claim 1, in which said manually operable selecting means is further selectively settable for operation of said fuse assembly in both an impact operated and time delay mode.
 7. A multiple purpose grenade according to claim 1, in which said fuse assembly has an annular recess in an external surface thereof, a single arming pin extending inwardly from said recess, a tape wound in said recess and retaining said arming pin and an open ring securing the tape in place, said tape being released by said ring and unwinding when said grenade is launched.
 8. A multiple purpose grenade according to claim 1, in which said impact operated means comprises a ball in a nose portion of said fuse assembly.
 9. A multiple purpose grenade according to claim 8, in which a cap covering said ball has a forward portion that is easily deformable.
 10. A multiple purpose grenade according to claim 1, in which said fuse assembly comprises a barrel with a circular duct therein, pyrotechnical transmission compounds placed partly in said duct, a striker, an arming pin and a primer, said striker being intersected by said arming pin and said primer being isolated.
 11. A multiple purpose grenade according to claim 1, in which said fuse assembly comprises a barrel having two fore-and-aft extending passages therein, one comprising said impact operated means and the other comprising said time delay means, and a single arming pin intersecting and blocking both of said passages. 